


Baby don't you break my heart slow

by epistretes



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, F/M, Mentioned Angeal Hewley (Compilation of FFVII), Mentioned Cloud Strife, Mentioned Genesis Rhapsodos (Compilation of FFVII), Mentioned Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII), Mentioned Vincent Valentine (Compilation of FFVII), Shin-Ra is a recording company, minor unwanted female on male sexual contact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25220875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epistretes/pseuds/epistretes
Summary: In the run up to the biggest award ceremony of the year, the three flagship bands signed to Shin-Ra Records converge in Midgar. Romance is blossoming for some of the various band members, but for one it seems their secret romance might have died, her not-quite-significant-other being pictured with another woman of late. She deals with it by pouring her feelings out on blank sheet music.
Relationships: Elena/Tseng (Compilation of FFVII), Tifa Lockhart/Reno, Yuffie Kisaragi/Rude, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	1. Music and lyrics

**Author's Note:**

> Having just got off one involved fic and writing out the plan for another, this popped in to my head. I decided to write it to free my brain up! I hope you enjoy this little piece of silliness.

"Tifa, come on - you need a good night out." Yuffie told her friend, who had been noticeably down for the past week.

"Yeah, it'll be fun, come on, Tifa." Aerith added, with what her band mates likes to call her 'puppy dog face', which gave a 98% return rate on whatever Aerith wanted as it was so close to impossible to resist. It almost worked this time, but the 2% failure rate kicked in and Tifa only managed a small smile.

"I'm just not really feeling it." Tifa explained.

"Okay, I'm just gonna ask, what's eatin' you?" Yuffie asked, plonking herself down on the sofa in front of the woman. Tifa could occasionally fall into a bit of a brooding state, but it did not usually last this long. She would pull herself up by her bootstraps and go right back to being the mum of the group and ensuring Yuffie did not lead Aerith into too many drunken scrapes.

"Yeah, you've been a little low for a while now." Aerith added more carefully, crouching down by Tifa's feet and laying her soft hands gently on her friend's knee, looking up at her with worry in her green eyes.

"Its nothing, I guess I'm maybe just tired. We've been on tour and/or promotional appearances for months now." Tifa replied, only partially a lie and it seemed the other two knew it.

"All right, fine. You can brood for tonight." Yuffie stated bluntly and Aerith sent her a displeased look.

"Only if you are sure. Zack and the others got into town last night, so they're coming out with us. We haven't seen them in ages, it'll be fun to catch up!" Aerith said, only to realise it was the wrong thing to say by the almost imperceptible flinch from the pianist. Now just to figure out _why_ it was the wrong thing to say - the three bands and various entourages had always enjoyed hanging out together.

"I'm sure. I think I want to just stay here. Maybe have a bubble bath and turn in early." Tifa replied and she could see the conflict in Aerith's face. "Go have fun."

"Yeah, come on Aerith." Yuffie got to her feet and pulled Aerith up. "Time to get your glad rags on. I intend to find Rude and climb that man like a tree."

Tifa got up from her seat and walked into the bathroom of her hotel room to encourage the other two to go and she heard the door click. She was not in the mood for a big, long soak in the bath despite her words to Aerith, so she just did a quick but efficient wash in the power shower, then patted herself dry and popped on some moisturiser, humming a tune to herself and dried her hair.

She felt better in body, but still not in soul. The tune she had hummed to herself in the bathroom was starting to take shape, so she thought she might as well use this moment of creativity and she wrapped herself in a bathrobe and she only half dried her hair and the rest dry naturally - it would get teased and pulled about tomorrow as they had an interview with the Shin-Ra Information Network before the big awards ceremony the day after, might as well let it rest tonight as much as she could but it would take hours to dry with no help at all.

She heard the other two giggling in the hallway as they headed out and her heart twisted a little. They would have more fun without her tonight. She knew she would be fine, she would just take the time she needed and purge herself of these feelings and get back to herself.

She had spent enough time thinking about _him_. She needed to get him out of her system and move on, as he seemed to have done.

She settled at her keyboard that she brought with her everywhere and pushed her hair back. Her fingers touched the keys and started to tease out the beginning of the tune.

Maybe she could pour her feelings out into a song and purge herself of them that way? It had often worked before - certainly had for Yuffie, some of their biggest hits had been 'fuck you, I'm over it' belters that she had written.

 _"Why can you write such evocative lyrics about your exes but not about the feelings of when you first like them?"_ Aerith had asked at her most recent break-up song.

 _"They screw me over, I turn it into cold hard Gil, Gainsborough!"_ Yuffie had laughed. _"And when I buy a new pair of shoes with said Gil, its like I took it from them."_

The memory made Tifa smile and she grabbed a piece of sheet paper and started to mark out the melody so she did not forget it. Yuffie specialised in the harsher feelings of love, Aerith perfectly encapsulated the warm fuzzy feelings and Tifa...well, most of her songs were not about love at all. This time, she would try to blend both of her friends' styles and use the song as a cathartic exercise.

She set down the arrangement, scrubbed some bits and refined it, the melody flowing through her as it usually did first before any lyrics. Yuffie was the opposite, the lyrics flowed from her and then they paired to music and she figured that was why they worked so well together, but this one was personal. She wanted to keep this one for herself.

As she felt she was happy with the melody, she thought of him and a snatch of lyrics floated across her mind and, so focused was she on this, she did not notice her door being opened nearly two hours later.

_I like the way you wanted me  
Every night for so long baby  
I like the way you needed me  
Every time things got rocky_

"Beautiful lyrics. A new work?" Tifa let out an embarrassing squeak and she turned to see Rufus there, waving his bodyguard, Tseng away and he took up station outside.

"I - yes." She coughed to clear her throat and settle her embarrassed nerves.

"That would explain why you were not at the bar with the others." Rufus sat down on the sofa and made himself comfortable. "Aerith was concerned."

"So _you_ came to check on me?" Tifa asked, not bothering to hide her incredulousness.

"So _I_ came to check on you." He confirmed. "Believe it or not, I _do_ have some concern about my band members."

"Sure." Tifa chuckled, but she did appreciate her manager's apparent concern, no matter his true motives for coming here.

"Plus," Rufus smirked at her and she smiled at him, they knew each other too well. "Reno was making a bit of a scene with Scarlett."

_Oh._

She pressed a key on her keyboard to steady herself and then another. Rufus narrowed his eyes behind her, but said nothing. She played the melody again. Of course, Rufus Shin-Ra of Shin-Ra Records Inc. _also_ managed _The Turks_ and _SOLDIER_ as well as her band, _AVALANCHE_. Between the three bands, they were the hottest things on Gaia right now and were cleaning up at the award ceremonies and in the charts.

"I should keep going or I'll lose my thread."

"Of course. Would you like a drink?"

"You are offering me a drink from my own minibar?"

"I will be picking up the tab, after all." Rufus chuckled.

"True, G&T is fine." She replied and let him get to fixing the drinks as she continued to play. She would prefer that he left but he must have come from the hotel bar for a reason.

_I like the way you wanted me  
Every night for so long baby  
I like the way you needed me  
Every time things got rocky  
I was believing in you  
Am I mistaken do you say,  
Do you say what you mean  
I want our love to last forever_

She sang and made notes on her notepad and drew the melody on her sheet music, humming as Rufus stood behind her and then she set her pencil down and accepted the drink.

"Powerful lyrics." He mused, eyes scanning the notepad that had scribbles on it and many lines crossed out.

"Sometimes things just come to you and you have to let them or you lose them." She shrugged.

"And sometimes they are cathartic and release pent up feelings?" He asked pointedly and she failed to resist blinking up at him.

"Oh come on, Tifa, I manage _Yuffie Kisaragi_." He scoffed and she tilted her head in acceptance, that was entirely true. All of Gaia knew about how she dealt with break ups. Usually through vitriolic and yet somehow uplifting and catchy tunes. She sipped at her drink.

"Touché."

"I should return and report back that you are perfectly fine and have turned in early?" He asked, offering her an out.

"I'd appreciate that. Thanks, Rufus." He gave her a look she could not quite read and he swirled his drink before finishing it.

"Let it out. See where it goes. I'd like to hear the demo when it is done."

"Oh, sure. Yeah, I will." She assured him.

"Whoever they are, they would be a fool to let you go." He said quietly and he looked at her again, nodded and then left, Tseng at his back as usual. Tifa was too flabbergasted to respond. What had all _that_ been about?

That had been a little odd and though Rufus was usually cold and ruthlessly efficient in managing their careers, he did actually care that they were safe and healthy. She suspected it was in part because they made him more money when they could record and tour - but she felt like that was not the sole reason.

_But I'd rather you be mean than love and lie  
I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye  
I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know  
But baby don't you break my heart slow_

So what if Reno had been repeatedly seen in the company of Scarlett, the socialite serial bride? No one knew he and Tifa had somehow fallen in to bed with one another six months ago, drunk out of their minds and woken up with horrible hangovers the next day. So what if they had done it again a week later, but this time without the hangovers and had indulged again the next morning? Then again the day after...and the day after that?

So what if she had caught feelings along the way? That was her own stupid fault. Reno Sinclair was a known womaniser and party animal. He was handsome, rich, creative and had an on-stage presence that made the girls go wild and she had only gone and developed _feelings_ for him.

No one knew but them. They had successfully kept their repeated liaisons a secret while all three bands had done promotional tours around Gaia for four months and then they had split off to do their own things, Rufus flying between the groups and keeping on top of everything as usual.

He had text messaged her a few times and she had done the same...until The Turks had had a week of sold-out concerts in Midgar's Honeybee Arena and Scarlett had been pictured in the same clubs, pubs, bars and restaurants as Reno. Their faces had been plastered all over every tabloid - most notably the Daily Buzz - and Tifa had felt sick to her stomach.

She felt like such a fool.

It had festered within her and now, she vowed to herself to open the floodgates and let it out. This song would be her goodbye to Reno Sinclair and tomorrow, she would do a Kisaragi and drop off her demo to Shin-Ra and make some Gil out of her heartache.

_I like the way you'd hold me  
Every night for so long baby  
And I like the way you'd say my name  
In the middle of the night  
While you were sleeping  
I was believing in you  
Was I mistaken  
Do you mean, mean what you say  
When you say our love could last forever_

He had only said it once and he had been three sheets to the wind when he had, so she did not completely believe him; but some part of her had glimmered with happiness when he had told her he loved her. The passing out and snoring a moment later had been a bit of a buzzkill, though.

The rest of the lyrics and melody flowed from her in a way they had not in so long. Her music was not suffering according to sales and the charts, but _she_ had felt it had become very staid and formulaic as she overthought every word, but this just ripped out of her and cascaded down onto the pages of her notebook and she looked down at her handiwork.

_Well I'd rather you be mean than love and lie  
I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye  
I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know  
But baby don't you break my heart slow  
You would run around and lead me on forever  
While I wait at home thinking that we're together  
I wanted our love to last forever  
Well I'd rather you be mean than love and lie  
I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye  
I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know  
But baby don't you break my heart slow_

It was late but the top three floors of this hotel had been rented out by Rufus' company for the band, roadies, himself and the various entourage and nearly everyone was in the hotel bar downstairs getting utterly hammered. With that in mind, Tifa grabbed her phone and played and sang her song into the recording app and fired it off to Rufus' phone.

Pleased with herself and feeling about a metric tonne lighter, she packed her things away and headed for bed. Tomorrow was a new day, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to listen to the song that Tifa writes, you can find it here: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8upKSvAabU - Baby, Don't You Break My Heart Slow - Vonda Shepard ft. Emily Sailers


	2. Getting smashed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lastly, came the girls and Reno looked up hopefully, only to feel those hopes dashed to the ground as only two thirds of the girl group AVALANCHE walked in. Where was Tifa? He had not seen her since the tours diverged and he had to admit it to himself, he missed her - a lot.

Reno, Rude and Elena were all sitting at the bar waiting for their beers as the five members of SOLDIER (Zack Fair, Cloud Strife, Sephiroth Crescent, Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley) and their roadie, Kunsel, walked in and made themselves comfortable. Everyone was gathering in the hotel to prepare for the big annual award ceremony in two days' time to ensure the set ups were right and give them rehearsal and sound check time before the big live event.

Rufus had been looking forward to it as his three bands would likely steal the limelight and convert it into Gil for him. It was all free publicity and with their diverse music styles he covered large swathes of potential in them.

The Turks' roadie Johnny waved them over as they got their beers and they sat with him, tilting drinks to their fellows on the next table. They admired SOLDIER, but also had full plans on outselling the legendary band and being the Number One group in Gaia. They wanted to smash the record held by the group for their fifth album 'LOVELESS' with their upcoming release, the sophomore effort 'Turks' Two-Step'.

Vincent Valentine walked in with Rufus Shin-Ra and Tseng and the three sat talking - Vincent was due to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award at the upcoming ceremony though he had been retired for years now. He still managed to hold nearly every record for sales going and was considered a legend in his own right. He had originally been signed under Rufus' father, but Rufus had done all of the caretaking of his retirement and the semi-regular release of 'previously unheard' tracks and of remix albums and the like to keep Vincent in the charts and relevant. It funded his retirement nicely.

Lastly, came the girls and Reno looked up hopefully, only to feel those hopes dashed to the ground as only two thirds of the girl group AVALANCHE walked in. Where was Tifa? He had not seen her since the tours diverged and he had to admit it to himself, he missed her - a lot. 

It had started off as two drunken people who knew each other well letting physical desire overcome them and rutting with abandon; but somewhere along the way he had realised he liked her as more than just a fellow signee to Shin-Ra records, a friend, a fuckbuddy. He liked her for _her_. That was new.

Aerith looked lovely in a simple pink dress, her hair half up and she beamed at Zack Fair of SOLDIER and he beamed right back and scooted over to allow the girl to sit with them. The pair had been dating for a little while now but were as sweet and wholesome as ever, always excited to see one another. Cloud rolled his eyes and bumped Genesis along a bit so Zack did not sit half in his own lap making room for his beloved girlfriend. 

Yuffie beelined for the Turks' table instead and sat herself next to Rude and settled in.

"Uh oh, watch out, partner - you are a future break up song in th' making." Reno joked, only to have the girl kick him painfully in the shin with her heels. He hated to admit it, but they actually seemed to get along well during their recent tour though nothing had actually happened yet - that he knew of - and she looked incredible in the little yellow and blue jumpsuit she had on.

Johnny looked saddened that Tifa was not with them and he ended up going to another table with Kunsel and the other roadies, Barret on duty upstairs. He usually took guard duty at this time in order to put Marlene to bed as she travelled with them.

"Tseng!" Elena vacated their table at the sight of the man and Reno rolled his eyes at her as she quested after the sexy bodyguard, or so he had heard her call him no less than twenty times today. Elena had it _bad_.

"Thanks f'r leaving me as the third wheel!" He called after her, but she either did not hear him or ignored him. Probably the latter. 

"If you're worried about being the third wheel, you could fuck off?" Yuffie suggested in a sickly sweet tone. Rude had the audacity to allow it.

"No Tifa tonight?" He asked as nonchalantly as possible as he ignored her suggestion, picking at the label on his beer bottle.

" _Reno Sinclair_ , well I never." He looked up at the purring voice and fought the urge to wince as Scarlett's voice pierced the air. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Here, with the rest of my band, our manager and others from the record company?" He sneered back at her. "You do seem to find yourself in the same place as me a lot lately."

"Midgar may be big but those of us who know it frequent the same places." She cooed back.

"There _are_ other bars in Sector Zero." He pointed out, Rude and Yuffie looking up with interest at the scene.

"I happen to be staying here tonight - for the next two incidentally."

"Righ'. Even though you live in this district, you jus' _happen_ to be staying in this hotel." He retorted and realised the room had gone quiet around them. He was painfully aware of the fact that Scarlett was eyeing him up as husband number four - the first few times they had run into one another had at first seemed coincidence but now, no - this was obviously staged and he was getting fed up.

She was an attractive woman, but even had there not been...someone _else_ on the periphery, he would not have been interested. She had added to her already considerable wealth with each husband and figured she had her eyes firmly on the Gil in his bank account and the renewed fame being around him gave her.

A sinking feeling struck him as he suddenly wondered if Tifa's absence tonight was linked to Scarlett's presence. He sincerely hoped not, but the tabloids had been having a field day with their supposed and entirely fictitious romance. He saw Aerith talking to Rufus out of the corner of his eye and then the man left the room, Tseng hot on his heels and Elena looked down and moved back to the Turks' table.

Reno could have kissed her, as she plonked herself dejectedly in the seat Scarlett looked like she was about to claim for herself and blocked her from joining them.

"He'll be back." Reno turned to his band mate and nudged her with his elbow.

"Yeah." She said and perked up a bit. "I mean, its his job. Where Rufus goes, so too does Tseng."

"Exactly."

"I was worried he didn't want to talk to me." She confessed.

"Oh he totally does, I could see it in his face." Yuffie piped up and Reno could see Scarlett looking irate out of the corner of his eye having been muscled out of the conversation. Reno turned pointedly to Yuffie and Scarlett flounced over to the bar. He was certain she would try again later.

"Oh, really? Do elabora'e, Kisaragi." He prompted and drank another chug of his beer. He did love a juicy bit of gossip.

"He's got a great poker face, but his eyes _do_ light up when she's around." Yuffie said sagely and Elena blushed happily and the room turned into happy general chit-chat for a while and Rufus returned with Tseng just as Zack presented Aerith with a pink ribbon he had bought for her and she squealed in happiness, declaring she would wear it every day.

He felt eyes on his back and he looked up, curiously, then was even more baffled when he saw it was Rufus looking at him with narrow focus. What had he done _now_?

Three normal beers and a boilermaker later, he got up from his table and wobbled over to the toilets as Rude and Yuffie had moved over to one of the sofas and were making out with each other with abandon and Elena had gone off once again in quest of Tseng. He sorted himself out and washed his hands and almost walked straight into Rufus as he emerged. He blinked blearily at his manager.

"Boss?" He slurred, realising who it was and not seeing Tseng standing like a silent sentinel behind him like usual. Rufus almost looked odd without Tseng at his back.

"Reno. As your manager, tell me what is going on between you and Scarlett."

"Fuckin' nothin', yo. Crazy bitch keeps turnin' up wherever I am and botherin' me." He leaned against the wall for support as his world was spinning. "She's even got a fuckin' room here."

"I know the owner of this establishment, I can have her removed in the morning."

"You'd do tha'?" He was not surprised that he could, pretty much this entire town was in his pocket, but he _was_ surprised that he would exert any effort in this matter.

"While it is true that there is no such thing as bad publicity - within reason - as far as sales and interest go, there can be... _other_ fallout." He said and Reno blinked with confusion at him. What was he on about? "Go up to bed, Sinclair."

"Ya go' it." He saluted with a two-point and wobbled over to the lift as Rufus turned away tapping on his PHS, Reno catching a snatch of a hummed tune he did not recognise but was too drunk to notice how odd it was to hear Rufus Shin-Ra humming anything.

Of course, that was when disaster struck. Just as he was getting in the lift to retire to his room, Scarlett slipped in with him and he saw the unmistakable flash of a paparazzi camera and the doors slid closed.

"Wha' the fuck?" He demanded as she pressed him up against the doors and pressed the button for his floor - she was not allowed up there. Rufus always secured entire floors for safety and security purposes and so she would not have been on his floor at all regardless of having booked a room here.

"I'm going to show you what you've wanted all this time~" she purred and tried to nibble his ear, her hand moving down to palm at him through his jeans; but the lift doors opened and they fell on the floor, Reno shoving to get her off of him and then looking up into the faces of Barret and Tseng.

"Ge' th' fuck _off_ me." He snapped as Tseng reached out a hand and helped him to his feet.

"Ma'am, you are not permitted to be on this floor." Tseng said sternly.

"I'm a guest of..." Scarlett started, looking furious at being referred to as 'Ma'am'.

"No ya ain't." Barret held his prosthetic arm out and barred her passage into the hallway. "An' I suggest you go back downstairs before ya wake my little girl - coz then we really _will_ 'ave a problem."

Reno did not think he had ever been so grateful to the gruff roadie/bodyguard of AVALANCHE before, but he was just about ready to kiss the man for that.

"Leave before we are obliged to force you to." Tseng added and Scarlett looked at Reno in appeal, but he turned away from her.

"Fine. I'll remember this." She threatened, but thankfully got back in the lift and went down to her own floor.

"Fuckin' paps got a picture of 'er gettin' in the lift after me." Reno told Tseng, who looked concerned for a moment but then went back to his usual stoic expression.

"Ge' off ta bed, skinny." Barret waved his hand at him and Reno nodded, regretted nodding as it made his head swim again then he went off and opened his hotel room door and collapsed on the bed. Thankfully, alone. Well, maybe not thankfully - there _was_ one person he would have been happy to curl around but it seemed she no longer wanted him to.


	3. Laying the track down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yay! You're the _best_ , Tifa!" Marlene cheered and Tifa reached over and kissed her forehead and did not notice three pairs of blue eyes trained on her as she radiated happiness and looked utterly beautiful, her happiness shining through and banishing the sad aura that had settled around her lately.

The next morning, the girls of AVALANCHE all went downstairs for breakfast together as usual and Tifa listened to Aerith gush about her new ribbon as she buttered her toast. She had to give Zack credit, it was lovely and so very _Aerith_. She approved.

Tifa felt better, she felt purged of the worst of her feelings and she chuckled at Yuffie's tales of Rude's prowess of the previous night. Something told Tifa this one might be different to Yuffie's usual dalliances; Rude had a different personality to most of Yuffie's paramours for a start - but something inside Tifa told her this one might actually stand a chance at going the distance.

Everything was going well and Rufus came over to their table and told her he loved the demo she had sent him the night before and that he thought the group should work on it and perform it the next night at the award ceremony.

"Weren't we going to perform-" Yuffie asked, puzzled, but Rufus cut her off.

"Trust me on this, I already spoke to Reeve and told him we are going to change the set. I want to unveil this one tomorrow - you have your whole day free to perfect it as your sound check is not until tomorrow. I want to release this as your next song. The ceremony will be excellent publicity and I postponed your interview with Sector Beat until the day after the award show." He walked away and immediately, the other two asked about it.

"I wrote a song last night. After I'd showered, I guess inspiration just struck. I sent the demo to Rufus last night before I went to bed." She shrugged.

"Tifa..." Aerith looked lost for words, but she beamed at her friend.

"...yeah, you think you go' over your block?" Yuffie added and Tifa nodded.

"It all just flowed from me."

"Complimentary paper." A bellboy came over and handed one of these to every table in the morning and Tifa paled as she took in the front page image. It was a picture of Scarlett and Reno going in to the lifts of this very hotel together last night.

"Ew. What is he thinking?" Yuffie sneered as she caught it. "I mean, she's attractive, I'll give her that but she's old enough to be his mum."

"We should probably go to the studio and practice." Tifa said, standing up suddenly. "I mean, learning a whole brand-new song by tomorrow night is going to be hard."

"Oh, okay." Aerith stood up and Yuffie followed, the latter snatching up a triangle of toast and following her band mates out of the breakfast hall. They saw Scarlett and Reno in the lobby and Tifa looked directly at the lift and did not allow her steps to deviate. She felt her heart twisting, but told herself the first step was taken, she could get over this - and when she performed her song the next night that would be it. She would purge him from her mind, heart and soul once and for all.

The lift doors closed and Tifa did not see Scarlett get escorted from the premises as Reno joined his band mates, Rufus, Tseng and SOLDIER in the breakfast room.

The girls changed and got in the car to go to the nearby studio and she played them and Cid Highwind, their producer, the demo she had recorded the night before.

"Tifa...who is this about?" Aerith asked, worriedly.

"No one of note." She responded. "Just someone I thought there might be something there with, but I was wrong."

"Teef..." Yuffie began.

"We don't have time. Come on, we need to lay down drums." Tifa walked into the soundproof room and pulled her headphones on.

"She's right, yanno. Go on, ge' in there." Cid chivvied the others in with her. "We ain't got no time fer a heart-to-heart."

The rest of the day was taken up with laying down Aerith's drums and then Yuffie selected an acoustic guitar and played to compliment Tifa's piano playing, but the song did not require much tweaking and they recorded it a few times and blended together the best bits for the official recording, Cid working the mixing desk like it was an extension of his body. Tifa took the first verse, Yuffie the second and Aerith took the harmonies and though the demo had sounded good, this was polished and sounded incredible.

Rufus and Tseng stopped by in the last hour and gave their approval for the finished version of the song when Cid played it for them, Rufus intrigued by the notion of making it a duet.

"Nearly every woman has had her heart broken at some point." Yuffie shrugged.

"It seemed to fit." Aerith added, though her eyes were still on Tifa, who stayed silent.

"I have organised everything with Reeve, the slot you have to perform has been adjusted to suit the tone of this track." He told them simply. "I think this track is just the ticket for transitioning your sound to a slightly more mature one."

"Hey!" Yuffie pouted.

"Well, you can't keep singing about the same things forever, can you?" He countered with and she conceded defeat as he had a point. "Tomorrow morning, I want you three to go to the arena with Johnny, I will join you later."

"Why, where are you going?" Aerith asked, curiously.

"I have an appointment in the morning, nothing for you all to worry about, really. It pertains to something I am doing with The Turks." He responded, but Tifa felt suspicious. He never liked to schedule things on days when the three bands were all doing something so huge like this annual ceremony. It must be important - but it was none of her business.

They went back to the hotel and Tifa tried to claim a headache, but Yuffie had waved it off

"Headache, schmedache - come on, you can't hide up here like a hermit again." She had demanded and when Aerith joined in the protests, Tifa gave in. She knew they were worried about her after hearing the lyrics to her song and they had no idea that dragging her down to the bar where _he_ would be would hurt her in any way. They thought they were helping, so she let them and trusted them to look after her if she showed she needed it.

Maybe they had been too good at keeping it quiet? No, it had been for the best. It had started as a one-night stand and then morphed into more; but never enough to clue others in on it. Now it had ended in flames she would rather no one know just whom had burned her.

Aerith pulled on another pink dress, this one even nicer than the one the night before and Yuffie pulled on a patterned cheongsam before stuffing Tifa into a little blue dress with a bow that trailed into her cleavage.

"I'd fuckin' kill for tits like yours." Yuffie sighed for the fiftieth time as she looked at Tifa all done up.

"I wouldn't, they give me awful backache." Tifa shot back and Aerith rolled her eyes at this little in-joke. Yuffie was obsessed with Tifa's chest.

"Come on, Zack will be there by now. You should come sit with us, I think Cloud might like you - he was asking about you last night." 

"Nah, we just grew up together, you know that. He was probably just wondering where I was." Tifa reminded, but Aerith did not look like she believed her and then they dragged her downstairs.

Aerith went to sit with the SOLDIER boys, Yuffie went to sit with Rude and Tifa ignored both bands and went to sit with Barret and Marlene. She adored the little girl and was about as close to a mother figure as the girl had. Barret was listening to Marlene chat away about her lessons - she travelled with him and Barret spent a good deal of his pay on her tutors - but he refused to leave her behind. Tifa busied herself with helping the four year old cut up her meat.

"Yeah an' he said Betty invited me to her party tomorrow!" Marlene enthused, her tutor's niece always spent time with Marlene when they were in Midgar.

"That sounds like fun, Marlene." Tifa told her, handing the fork back and setting the knife down.

"Yeah! Can I go, Daddy, _please_?"

"What time is it?" He asked, considering.

"Starts at four an' her Dad said I can stay the whole day coz he knows you'll be at the awards with Tifa." Marlene stated and he nodded. 

"Fine by me." He agreed and Marlene positively beamed at him and then at Tifa, who beamed back. It was always good for Marlene to get time with kids her own age.

"We can pop out in the morning before sound checks and get a present for Betty?"

"Works for me. I got a thing in the mornin'."

"Yay! You're the _best_ , Tifa!" Marlene cheered and Tifa reached over and kissed her forehead and did not notice three pairs of blue eyes trained on her as she radiated happiness and looked utterly beautiful, her happiness shining through and banishing the sad aura that had settled around her lately.

After Marlene had eaten and had her dessert, Barret took her out for a walk and Tifa left the table and looked around, being waved at by both Yuffie and Aerith. She shrugged at Yuffie and went to sit with Aerith, who moved over and made a space between her and Cloud. She did not notice a look of pain cross another pair of blue eyes at the other table.

The conversation was nice, they all chatted for a little while and Tifa felt that though she was hyper-aware of every movement Reno made even when she was not looking towards his table, it had been a good idea to drag her out and not let her sit in her room brooding all night. She could - and would - get over him.

The night took a surprising turn when Rude asked Yuffie out properly and she accepted. Rufus chuckled and leaned over to Tseng.

"I really hope this works out or we are going to have one hell of an album on our hands - on both sides." Tifa caught his eye and smiled. 

"Yeah, but it'd make for some of that publicity you love so much." She teased from across the table and he saluted her with his drink.

"That it would." Their gazes were dragged aside though when Elena got up and wobbled over to Tseng and it seemed she had been inspired by Rude as she planted a very messy kiss on the man. He looked like a rabbit in headlights for a moment, then he lifted his hands and gently tilted her head into a much better angle for a kiss and drew her in to him.

A big cheer went up and Reno offered to buy everyone's drinks in celebration. Tifa excused herself and ducked out, feeling she had had enough excitement for the night and found Rufus joining her at the lift doors.

"So, Tseng and Elena, huh?" Tifa said and he smiled.

"It is about time. They have liked each other for so long." He smiled back. "I have given him the night off and decided to retire."

"How considerate of you." She teased as the lift doors opened and they went in together. She saw Reno on the other side of the doors and the big smile slid off of his face as he saw Tifa and Rufus chatting together but she did not quite know what to make of it as the doors closed and blocked him from her view.

"I can be, from time to time." He admitted as the lift ascended and opened on her band's allotted floor.

"Well..." She looked at him, suddenly feeling a little awkward.

"Indeed. I believe I should escort you to your room as it appears Barret has turned in for the night." They exited together and he did as he had said, though they did not speak as they got to her hotel room door.

"Tifa. I am hopeful that this song, this new chapter...will bring you some happiness." She did not know what to make of this side of Rufus.

"I am hopeful it will, too."

"I believe something will occur to help that." He stated and then lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Don't be afraid to bear your soul, it is beautiful."

"I..."

"Good night, Tifa." He stepped back, leaving her entirely confused and she went into her room as the second lift doors opened and Reno came out.

"I'd leave her alone for tonight, Reno." His head snapped up and looked at Rufus, relaxing when he realised that meant Rufus had not gone into her room with her. "She's feeling a little fragile."

"I dunno whatcha mean."

"Don't be obtuse. You broke her heart, Reno. Fix it - or someone else will." Rufus closed the lift doors in his face and Reno was left alone in the corridor and pondering his manager's words.


	4. Award Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ready for this?" Aerith asked Tifa, taking her friend's hand and she nodded.
> 
> "Yes, this is the beginning of a new chapter in my life." She said and squeezed Aerith's hand and Yuffie slapped her on the shoulder blade.

Morning had seen Marlene and Tifa rising before everyone else and having their breakfast before heading into Midgar proper and shopping. They ended up selecting Betty a mini set of Midgar Monsters, a collectible set of the various fauna of Gaia as Marlene knew she collected them. They found a card which Marlene signed and Tifa wrote out and then they went and bought Marlene a very pretty little party dress, socks and shoes.

They headed back to the hotel around noon and Tifa helped Marlene wrap the present and get her dress on and she brushed the little girl's hair.

"Ya ready t'go?" Barret asked as he came into their shared room from his meeting and Marlene twirled for him. "Oh you look so cute, Daddy just has t'take a picture."

Marlene giggled and twirled again, Barret taking plenty of pictures and then they left to go to the party as Marlene had been invited for the whole day.

Tifa went down to the lunch hall and ordered some food, Yuffie and Aerith both coming in looking worse for wear.

"Party a little too hard last night, girls?" She teased and signalled to the waiter, ordering two glasses of water, two glasses of orange juice and two pots of coffee - with eggs and toast on the side.

Her best friends called her every name under the sun; well Yuffie did, Aerith just sat there looking green as Tifa insisted they drank the water first which was followed by the orange juice and then as the coffee cooled to drinking temperature, she made them eat the food and had them chase it all with some painkillers.

"We're expected for our sound check in an hour." She reminded them and they groaned at her.

They eventually got all three of them fed, watered and showered and they headed for the arena with Johnny, who buzzed around Tifa ensuring she had the best seat, plenty of water etc. The hangover cure worked a treat as it always did and they got up and did their sound check as they were singing live tonight. Tifa only mocked her friends a little as she knew she was hardly immune to having a heavy night and the sober friend laughing at her the next morning (usually Aerith). It always came around.

They completed the sound check and were just going into their dressing rooms when The Turks walked in with Rufus and Tseng. SOLDIER were already there as they were doing their sound check next.

"Was starting to think you were not gonna show up." Yuffie said as she bounced over to Rude.

"Had something to do this morning." He told her, but he refused to give up what. Tifa's eyes slid over Reno's form. He was dressed in a tight pair of black jeans with a red top that matched his hair and looked incredible with his blue eyes peeking out from the surrounding red. She tore her eyes away from him and settled them on Rufus instead, who was looking pleased with himself though she did not know why.

"SOLDIER are on next for their sound check; AVALANCHE, go get yourselves into hair and make up. Turks - go get ready for your own sound check." He ordered and they scattered to do his bidding.

The next few hours passed in a blur of dinner, hair, make up and dressing and they were all dressed in red for the performance. Yuffie had on a red sheath dress with little black details on it and red beads in her hair. Aerith had her hair wrapped in ribbons and had on a red dress that made Zack choke when he came into the room to see her. She had insisted on it having a slit so she could get to the pedals and she looked amazing in it and she had tied the pink ribbon he had bought her around her wrist. Tifa herself had on a wine coloured glittery dress that matched her eyes, her hair was smooth and loose, the lights shining on her as she turned. The top followed the line of her bosom and slid down into a thigh-high slit to also allow her to reach her pedals on her piano.

"Are you ready?" Reeve, the awards organiser, knocked and entered the room. "Everyone is starting to take their seats and you will come backstage again for the Best Breakthrough Act award is handed out right before you perform."

"Got it." Tifa assured him and Rufus came into the room and looked them all over.

"Well, you all will certainly be the best dressed women here tonight." He said approvingly, then looked at Zack. "Should you not be elsewhere?"

"Er...yes. See you later, Aerith." He pecked her on the cheek so as not to mess up her lipstick and scarpered before Rufus got annoyed.

The group all headed out to the tables where the attendees were all seated, just behind the area cordoned off for fans to appreciate the live music. The ceremony started and Reeve welcomed them all before Beck's Bandits kicked them off with their set. It was raw and unpolished, but they were popular and it was a good choice to kick the night off with.

Reno and the rest of his band were two tables away, with SOLDIER in the middle. Rufus had chosen to sit with the girls of AVALANCHE and Tseng sat next to Elena, watching over everything while holding the woman's hand. Tifa thought it adorable. She could see Scarlett's friends at another table but could not see the woman herself and wondered at that, she usually never missed such an event, but she was grateful to whatever had kept her away.

The nominees for the Best Breakthrough Act were called out and AVALANCHE got up and started to head backstage for their set.

"Ready for this?" Aerith asked Tifa, taking her friend's hand and she nodded.

"Yes, this is the beginning of a new chapter in my life." She said and squeezed Aerith's hand and Yuffie slapped her on the shoulder blade.

"Yeah. Fuck 'em, whoever it was. Move on." Tifa smiled at her, she appreciated her blunt friend greatly.

"And the winner is...Kyrie!" Vincent Valentine called out and the girl in question squealed, kissed her grandmother-manager on the cheek and bounded up to the stage to collect her statue.

AVALANCHE made their way to their instruments as Kyrie gave her speech and then they were introduced by Reeve.

"And now for you, we have a special treat - AVALANCHE with a brand new never-before-heard song!" He called out and the lights flashed over to them, bathing them in light and warmth.

A tendril of worry snaked through Tifa, but she welcomed it - feeling like the first time she performed live and did not have that heady rush of excitement and fear was the day she ought to consider retiring and she laid her fingers on the piano, all eyes and cameras on her.

Her fingers pressed down and started the melody, Aerith's soft drums providing the beat without overwhelming the piano and the guitar that accented it and then, Tifa started to sing and she thought she had never sounded so good. Her voice was clear and powerful without over-singing and overpowering the words. The feeling behind her voice was raw and pure.

She was singing it to _him_. She wanted him to hear her and as Yuffie and Aerith provided the vocal support and accompaniment, Tifa felt her soul shine out - like Rufus had advised her to.

_I like the way you wanted me  
Every night for so long baby  
I like the way you needed me  
Every time things got rocky  
I was believing in you  
Am I mistaken do you say,  
Do you say what you mean  
I want our love to last forever_

_But I'd rather you be mean than love and lie  
I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye  
I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know  
But baby don't you break my heart slow, no_

Yuffie's vocals came in then and though her vocals were not as raw with emotion, it gave a lovely contrast. Tifa was feeling lost in love but Yuffie was in the first flush of it and it leant a clarity to her song.

_I like the way you'd hold me  
Every night for so long baby  
And I like the way you'd say my name  
In the middle of the night  
While you were sleeping  
I was believing in you  
Was I mistaken  
Do you mean, mean what you say  
When you say our love could last forever_

Tifa came back in with supporting secondary vocals and accented the song, feeling it swell and fill the whole arena. The people in the front had their PHS's out and were waving them to the song and she felt that Rufus had been right on the money - as usual. This felt good, it felt more mature and though she was still proud of their previous work, this felt _right_ to her.

_Well I'd rather you be mean than love and lie  
I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye  
I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know  
But baby don't you break my heart slow_

Tifa took back over the primary vocals and Yuffie reverted back to secondary, Tifa willing Reno to understand what he had broken; but that she was ready for it to end if she needed to be and Aerith harmonised with them both.

_You would run around and lead me on forever  
While I wait at home still thinkin' that we're together  
I wanted our love to last forever_

_I was believing in you..._

_I'd rather you be mean than love and lie  
I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye  
I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know  
But baby don't you break my heart slow_

_I'd rather you be mean than love and lie  
I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye  
I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know  
But baby don't you break my heart slow_

_Baby, don't you break my heart...slow_

A roar went up from the crowd, applause underscoring it and Yuffie punched the air in triumph, Aerith stood and curtseyed prettily and Tifa just looked at the piano and took steadying breaths until Reeve called the crowd back to him, praising the performance and then introducing the next award nominees as the lights faded on the stage and they left, going to the sides and Yuffie and Aerith waited for a three-way high five, which Tifa indulged in.

"Tifa?" Reno was standing there waiting for her.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Yuffie demanded as Aerith had a look of comprehension dawning on her pretty features.

"Yuffie, come on, lets go see Zack and Rude." She whispered and then dragged her hyperactive friend away.

"Tifa, was that song for me?" He asked her seriously and neither of them noticed that Tifa's mic on her lapel was still on, the sound engineer having 'forgotten' to turn it off (a nice sum of Gil in his bank account _not_ courtesy of Rufus Shin-Ra) and the cameras swung to them on the edge of the stage as Reeve signalled desperately for them to cut the feed when he realised.

"Yes." She said, looking up at him in challenge, her hands balling in to fists at her sides as murmurs rolled around the arena but the pair were oblivious to it.

"I never meant t'hurt you. I thought you didn' want to see me no more."

"When did I say that?" She asked him and he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeh didn', but you've been ignorin' me all week, yeah?"

" _You've_ been out with Scarlett. I have barely seen you _to_ ignore you." Tifa snapped, feeling like this was the moment. He would break her heart once and for all and she would walk away and not look back.

"Scarlett? That fuckin' banshee been followin' me around all over the damned place, engineerin' summons-damned paparazzi crap - I had to go get a bloody restrainin' order out this mornin' for chuckin' herself on me and grabbin' me damned junk!"

"So...you're _not_ dating Scarlett?"

"Fuck no! Tifa, I love _you_." A scream went up from the crowd and in that horrifying instant, they realised their conversation was being broadcast live and Tifa went as red as her dress.

"Yanno, tha' _was_ private, yeah?" Reno yelled at the crowd, but he was laughing as he turned back to Tifa. "Do yeh forgive me?"

She threw herself in to his arms in answer and kissed him with all of the passion that had been roiling through her this past week and he gathered her into himself and they ignored the clamour around them as poor Reeve desperately tried to get his awards ceremony back on track.

As they walked back to their tables hand-in-hand, she caught Rufus' eye and he lifted his martini to her in salute and she knew what he had done for her.

"Thank you." She mouthed to him and he smiled, then turned back to Tseng as Reeve announced the next award's nominees as Yuffie vacated her seat and took Reno's so that she could sit with Rude and so that Reno could stay with Tifa.

Her heart had been breaking, but now it was mended and whole and a new chapter had indeed begun and Tifa was more than ready to embrace it. She looked at Reno and smiled at him, he squeezed her hand.

No - _they_ were ready to embrace it. Together.


End file.
